The biggest health hazard you're up against just might be a chair—or a couch or recliner—and all the time you spend sitting in it. Desk jobs, long commutes, too much TV time—all that inactivity our daily routines dictate—is about as bad for us and as fattening as a steady diet of bacon and bread. And despite what you might think, slipping on walking shoes for daily sweat sessions alone isn't enough to combat the slow slide toward sickness. According to a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, women who sat for more than 6 hours each day had a 37% increased risk of premature death, compared with women who sat for less than 3—regardless of how often they hopped on a treadmill.

Nearly all of us are at risk. The average American spends more than 8 hours each day with his or her rear glued to a desk chair, car seat, or couch, according to the American College of Sports Medicine.

Just like a car that idles so long its engine stalls, your metabolism puts on the brakes when you lead a sedentary lifestyle, says James A. Levine, MD, PhD, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. The moment you go from walking slowly to sitting, your active calorie-burn rate drops from roughly 3 per minute to 1. Meanwhile, your triglyceride and blood sugar levels rise. Over time, sitting for hours every day causes your levels of "good" cholesterol (HDL) to fall and puts you at risk of weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, and a variety of cancers.

But you don't have to go so far as to torch your couch. Levine has developed a program called NEAT (nonexercise activity thermogenesis) to combat America's sitting epidemic. It requires you to rethink all your habits and find new, more active ways to get through your day, like walking into Starbucks instead of sitting in the drive-thru. If you move enough, you can offset the danger of all the sitting you can't avoid. Bonus: you can burn up to 1,000 calories a day, without ever setting foot in the gym.

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To prove that this too-good-to-be-true fat-loss solution works in the real world, we asked Levine and Chris Freytag, our resident fitness expert and pro trainer, to run a Prevention test panel on the principles of NEAT. They armed 25 women with a wearable device called the Gruve, which monitors personal activity level and tracks calorie burn.

The challenge was simple: The women were told to maximize their daily movements and add mini boosts of activity whenever and wherever possible to burn a mega amount of calories every 24 hours. The results were astonishing: In just 4 weeks of following a 1,600-calorie-a-day diet and maximizing the incidental activity of their days, the women lost a combined 99 pounds—some dropping up to 11 pounds, or almost 3 per week! Here, how they did it—and how you can too.

Your Pound-Melting PlanStep 1Calculate Your Calories
Wear an activity monitor (our panelists wore the Gruve) for 1 week to determine your baseline activity level and daily calorie burn before moving on to steps 2 and 3. This will help you gauge how much—or how little—you're currently moving and help you discover where you can make small changes that'll add up to big results.

Step 2Start Moving More
After learning how many calories you typically burn in a day, aim to up that number by at least 500 for the next 4 weeks. This will result in an average weight loss of 1 pound per week. Challenge yourself to find creative ways to change your regular patterns (keep reading for 100 inspiring ideas), and stick with those that work best for your lifestyle. (These 25 ways to sneak in 10 minutes of exercise can also help.)

Step 3Fight Fat With Food
The focus of this program is to make healthier choices all day long, and mealtimes are no exception. Follow a 1,600-calories-a-day diet that's packed with fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and fewer refined sugars and processed foods. You'll have just the right amount of energy to fuel everyday activities and keep hunger at bay while speeding up weight loss. (Take a look at these 5-minute 400-calorie meals for ideas.)

100 Ways To Stand Up For Your Health

At Home1. Hide your remote. If you must watch TV, at least stand up to change the channel.2. When cooking or baking, ditch the hand mixer and use a wooden spoon instead.3. Take each family member's laundry upstairs separately.4. When tidying up, put things away in multiple small trips rather than one big haul.5. Chop fresh vegetables instead of buying frozen ones.6. Invest in quality pots and pans; the heavier they are, the more energy it'll take to use them.7. Paint, hang curtains, or finish any other home-improvement task on your to-do list.8. Stand up and march during your favorite TV shows. (Try our Couch-Potato Workout.)9. Rather than yell toward family members in other rooms, walk over to talk.10. Stand while styling your hair and putting on makeup.11. Walk around your home, yard, or neighborhood while on the phone.12. Hand-wash dishes instead of using the dishwasher.13. Wash your car instead of taking it through the car wash.14. Put most-used items on top or bottom shelves so you have to reach for them.15. Leave your cell phone in one location, so when you need it, you must go to it.16. Start a compost pile in your yard. (It's not as hard as you think! Here's how to get started.)17. Help your kids clean their rooms.18. Organize a closet.19. Rake the leaves as a family.20. Give the delivery guy a break; when you order food in, pick it up yourself.21. Take a shower instead of a bath.22. Walk to the mailbox instead of checking the mail from your car.23. Plant or weed a garden or care for indoor plants.24. Ask for the paper to be left at the end of your driveway instead of by your front door.25. Give your dog a bath instead of paying someone else to do it.26. Instead of sitting and reading, listen to books on tape as you walk, clean, or garden.27. Preset the timer on your TV to turn off after an hour to remind you to do something more active.28. Slide a small trampoline under your couch and pull it out for House of Cards marathons.29. Put up more Christmas lights.30. The next time it snows, up your karma and shovel your neighbor's sidewalk too.31. Turn on tunes and dance while cooking.

At Work32. Drink lots of water. (You'll stand up for refills and trips to the bathroom.)33. Hover just above your chair in a squat position for 15 seconds every hour.34. Keep a small water glass, which you must refill often, instead of a large water bottle on your desk.35. Stand up each time you talk on the phone.36. Schedule meetings to take place in far-off conference rooms.37. Buy a plant for your office—watering it will make you more active.38. Set your computer alarm to ring hourly—stand up for 1 to 5 minutes each time it goes off.39. Walk your lunch outside or to another location in the office instead of sitting and eating at your desk.40. Invest in a standing desk like the Ergotron WorkFit-S ($379; ergotron.com)—or get crafty and raise your monitor and keyboard with books. (Check out our step-by-step instructions on building your own standing desk.)41. Purchase an under-desk pedaling machine, like the Stamina 15-0125 Instride Folding Cycle ($70; staminaproducts.com).42. When you need to brainstorm, do it while walking.43. Dust your office weekly.44. Walk around the block once mid-morning and once midafternoon.45. Make friends with someone on another floor; visit her often.46. Stand while you open and read your mail.47. Wear comfortable shoes (or keep flats under your desk) so you walk more.48. Get rid of your garbage can; walk trash to the kitchen bin.49. Use the vending machine three floors up—and take the stairs.50. Swap your desk chair for a stability ball—then gently bounce on it.51. When sitting, draw in your ab muscles and tap your toes.52. Place your stapler far enough away that you have to stand up to get it.53. Put people on speakerphone and pace your office during conference calls.54. If you're meeting a client for drinks, suggest standing at the bar instead of sitting at a table.55. Invest in a treadmill desk like the TrekDesk ($479; trekdesk.com).56. Instead of a sit-down meeting, ask your boss if you can "talk and walk."

Traveling57. When you're waiting for a flight, toss your carry-on in a locker and tour the airport.58. Skip the people movers.59. Stand while waiting for a train.60. When stopping for a road-trip break, take a quick lap around the parking lot.61. Carpool. On days you don't drive, fidget as much as possible.62. Get off the bus two stops sooner; walk the rest of the way.63. Book hotel rooms on a high floor and walk up.

Running Errands64. If you're buying only a few items, skip the cart and carry a basket.65. Dance to the radio or tap out a beat on the steering wheel while driving.66. Bag your own groceries.67. Do a few biceps curls each time you pick up shopping bags.68. Visit a store instead of shopping online.69. Walk between stores that are in close proximity (don't drive).70. When picking up your kids from school, get out of the car and greet them with a hug instead of waiting in the car curbside.71. Skip waiting rooms. When you have an appointment, check in and then head out for a walk until the receptionist phones you.72. Take a lap around the grocery store before you start shopping.

Just For Fun73. Get coffee with friends "to go"—walk as you talk and sip.74. Pick your own apples, strawberries, or other fruits and veggies.75. Go for a hike.76. Have sex. (Throw in one of these 11 new sex positions!)77. Give your sweetie a massage (then have him return the favor).78. Paint your own toe-nails instead of sitting for a pedicure.79. Host a party—the cleaning and prep work will keep you off the couch.80. Plan active dates with your hubby, such as bowling or golfing, instead of dinner and a movie.81. Play Frisbee with your kids.82. Get your book group to slip on sneaks and chat on the move.83. Play fetch with your dog.84. Build a snowman.85.Tour a winery instead of just buying another bottle.86. Volunteer to deliver meals or help build housing.87. Go window-shopping or antiquing.88. Visit a museum or art gallery.89. Go out dancing or take dancing lessons.90. Enroll in an active art class, such as sculpture or ceramics.91. Teach your kids your favorite sport (or have them teach you theirs).92. Go shopping for new clothes—wriggling into 10 pairs of skinny jeans will get your heart rate up.93. Cut down your own Christmas tree.94. Go Christmas caroling with the kids.95. Buy standing-room-only tickets for sporting events—you'll save cash too.96. Do away with chairs at your next cocktail party; standing will keep everyone mingling.97. Go camping.98. Spend the day on the slopes.99. Join your kids when they break out the Wii, instead of just watching.100. Play backyard games: